Meanwhile, on the side of the United Front, the frontline battlefield was being beaten to a pulp by Germania's second-line forces.
Multiple industrial zones had been lost, and coastal industrial areas were frequently targeted by long-range bombers from Germania.
Both industrial and economic might were in continuous decline.
Their sole remaining advantage was the massive navy retained from before the war, the backbone of which was the Leidenschaftlich Navy.
"This is getting troublesome... I need to find a way to gather more information over in Soviet or Germania. At the very least, I need to figure out whether the original plot has mutated, or if two transmigrators are at each other's throats."
"Click... click..."
The sound of a lock mechanism turning came from the door.
Zhurong immediately put away all the intelligence reports and the book on the coffee table, pulling out four FMG9s and making them hover close to the ceiling, ready to open fire at a moment's notice.
At the same time, Zhurong prepared a backup plan: if things went south, he would just grab Violet, smash through the window, and make a run for it.
"Click!"
The door slowly swung open...
Four burly men with short sabers strapped to their waists crept stealthily into the room.
The leader flashed a few hand gestures, signaling the others to close in on Violet.
Unfortunately for them, they didn't anticipate that from the moment the door was unlocked, the prey had already become the hunter.
The leader made a gesture of covering his mouth and nose, and another man immediately pulled out a thick handkerchief, pouring some substance onto it.
Before they could close in any further, the blanket draped over Violet was suddenly jerked up and thrown over the leader's head.
Immediately afterward, four fruit knives flew out, embedding themselves in all four men's necks almost simultaneously.
Just like that, the four thugs died without even knowing what hit them.
Hearing the sound of multiple bodies hitting the floor inside, two more men immediately rushed in from the hallway.
Dressed in civilian clothes and wielding bolt-action rifles, their movements looked like those of trained regular troops.
Without missing a beat, Violet hurled another two fruit knives straight at the duo's necks.
The first man to enter failed to react in time and was killed on the spot by a single strike.
The second man happened to have his rifle held vertically in front of his neck, which deflected the fruit knife from its original trajectory, causing it to bury itself in his right shoulder.
"Aah!!"
The scream echoed through the room and down the corridor.
Prompted by the scream, a large number of uniformed soldiers swarmed into the room.
Seeing this, Violet moved to draw her handgun.
"Wait, hold on."
Several soldiers stood on the opposite side of the room, their bolt-action rifles all aimed squarely at Violet.
"Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!"
A slow round of applause rang out from outside the doorway.
"I thought she was just a wild flower from the countryside, but it turns out she's a thorn-bearing rose. Could you really be the descendant of some Archmage?"
A middle-aged man wearing a brown suit with a peony pinned to his lapel walked into the room, flanked by four soldiers.
By now, Violet was fully prepared to turn hostile.
Under her skirt were two more throwing knives, two bayonets, and two handguns.
Her magic was also cocked and ready.
"Allow me to introduce myself first."
The man straightened his collar slightly.
"My name is Hilton Hobart, a Count of the Leidenschaftlich nation and also an army lieutenant general."
The man gave an aristocratic bow.
Hearing the Count's self-introduction, Zhurong immediately connected some dots from the intelligence reports to the man before him.
After all, his short-term goal was to figure out what was causing the current strange state of the world, and the Count in front of him could provide some assistance, thereby sparing them unnecessary trouble.
Having finalized the plan, Zhurong began his performance.
"Violet, play along in a moment."
Zhurong's voice echoed in Violet's mind.
"May I ask what business the esteemed Count has with my daughter?"
Zhurong's voice suddenly resounded inside the minds of everyone in the room.
The soldiers in the room all looked up and scanned their surroundings, finding neither a hidden person nor any recording equipment.
By this point, cold sweat was beading along the Count's temples, and his expression had grown tense and guarded.
"Respected Mage, I'm sure there must be some misunderstanding between us..."
Cold sweat was already on the verge of dripping from the man's chin onto the floor.
Damn it! Telepathic projection? That's the hallmark of an Archmage! Oh no, oh no, what kind of monster have I provoked this time?!
"Hmph, if I hadn't stepped in, I'm afraid my daughter would never see the light of day again."
Zhurong did his absolute best to project the arrogant aura of a powerful Archmage. In reality, he was secretly sweating bullets, slightly worried he wouldn't be able to intimidate this Count.
This was a classic case of two parties terrified of each other.
"N—no... of course not. I..."
"Spare me the excuses. Tell me how you plan to make amends."
"I can provide a vast sum of wealth, or use my official position to secure a military post for your esteemed daughter. I'm sure that with her strength, she will undoubtedly make a brilliant showing in the military."
The Count was still racking his brains for anything else he could use as a bargaining chip for his life.
"What do you think?"
Zhurong pretended to leave the choice up to Violet.
"Then give me a military post."
Violet sat back down on the sofa, and with a gentle wave of her hand, a cup of hot tea materialized on the coffee table.
"How to handle the specifics will be in the capable hands of Count Hobart."
Violet picked up the teacup and took a gentle sip.
Look at that—now *that* is what you call elegance.
Elegance it was, but making it happen wasn't easy for Zhurong.
After all, Violet didn't possess any spatial magic; the whole operation relied entirely on Zhurong's system to pull off.
"I—I will see it done properly!"
Seeing Violet casually wave a cup of hot tea out of thin air shocked the Count just as much as the telepathy did.
Good heavens! Spatial magic?! Everyone in this family is a monster!
"Also, this hotel is your property, isn't it? Get me another room."
Violet gently set down her teacup, her blue eyes glancing sideways at the sweating Count.
"Most certainly! I shall take my leave now."
Though the Count said he was taking his leave, he was actually too terrified to move a muscle.
"Alright, you may go. See to the military post as soon as possible."
At those words, the Count finally got his legs moving, eager to make his escape.
"Take these few with you as well."
Violet raised a hand and made a slight tossing motion.
The corpses of the four thugs flew straight up off the floor and crashed toward the doorway.
"Understood! Someone will guide you to your new room shortly."
The Count cast a sideways glance at the soldiers beside him, and they immediately scrambled to drag the five bodies and the wounded man out of the room.
The entire entourage fled the hotel in a panic.
Following the soldiers' departure, the hotel manager immediately came to serve them, arranging another room for Violet of the highest possible standard.
"Haah—"
Yawning drowsily, Violet slumped onto the bed, half-asleep.
Soon, the only sound left in the room was her soft, even breathing.
Zhurong gently pulled the blanket over her and took out the massive stack of intelligence reports he had put away earlier.
...
Over the next few days, Violet wandered all over the city, taking in the sights.
Bathhouses, train stations, post offices, banks, the town hall, factories, movie theaters, barracks, police stations, fire stations, casinos, taverns, hospitals—if she could walk into it, she did, visiting every single place she could find. Some visits were entirely above board, while others involved a bit of sneaking around.
During this period, Violet also scoured every establishment in the city that sold goods. Whenever she came across a shop, she would curiously step inside: clothing stores, general stores, pastry shops, bakeries, cafes, bookstores, hardware stores, adult shops, vehicle dealerships, and all sorts of different restaurants. (It seemed like some rather odd things snuck into that list.)
Along the way, she ran into plenty of trouble too. There were wealthy second-generation heirs trying to hit on her and make her their wife using every trick in the book, only to get thoroughly beaten up by Violet in return. She had even been threatened by underworld gangs, though those people met a miserable end. She had even stumbled upon a "recruitment team" from a brothel; the outcome of that went without saying—those people were still laid up in the hospital.
Some of these incidents made Zhurong feel an excruciating wave of secondhand embarrassment just thinking about them. For instance, when Violet asked Zhurong questions about *that sort of thing* right in front of the "recruitment team"...
Let's drop the subject right there.
All in all, the Count was remarkably efficient, sorting everything out in nearly a week. The official documents and appointment letters finally landed in Violet's hands.
Whether that was thanks to his sheer survival instinct was anyone's guess. (Laughs)
"Looks like this is the appointment letter."
Zhurong "held" one of the documents, which bore the official seal of approval from the Southern United Front.
*“By decision of the Frontline Military Council, Miss Violet von Richthofen is specially appointed as a Major and assigned to the Western Front as the Deputy Commander of the Special Combat Operations Unit. Major Richthofen is requested to report to the Western Front General Headquarters at her earliest convenience.*
*The above appointment shall take effect upon the date of issuance.*
*Issued by: Count Hilton Hobart, Member of the Frontline Military Council.*
*Authenticated by: The Frontline Military Council, Frontline Military Committee.*
*Date: XX/XX/XXXX.”*
Violet von Richthofen was Violet's full name; Zhurong had made a subtle reference to a rather famous historical figure when naming her.
"A special combat operations unit... What kind of outfit is this?"
Examining the appointment letter, Violet voiced her question to Zhurong.
*"The Special Combat Operations Unit, also known as K Unit, is a special force composed of a group of mages, individuals with special abilities, and elite soldiers. The security classification for this unit is extremely high; this is all that is currently known."* (The 'K' stands for *Krieg*, the German word for war. Its full name is *überwaffenspezialeinheit*, abbreviated as *Kriegtruppen*.)
"Oh—so it's just a weird squad made up of weird people!"
Violet pressed her palms together in sudden realization.
*"You... you're including yourself in that description, you know..."*
Zhurong buried his face in his hands, momentarily speechless.
"Am I wrong?"
Violet tilted her head slightly, her innocent expression dealing a massive critical hit to Zhurong.
*"Ahem! Nothing, your summary is spot on. But it would be even better if you could phrase it more tactfully next time."*
If you're going to feel awkward, you might as well cover it up with a loud cough! (Bushi)
*"Let's get ready to move. The military personnel are already waiting downstairs."*
"Mm!"
...
Joining the military was part of Zhurong's plan to make contact with the other two nations, while his secondary goal was to scavenge various weapons left behind on the battlefield to bolster his existing arsenal.
After all, he was severely lacking in choices when it came to both heavy equipment and personal gear.
As for small arms, stretching the count to its absolute limit, they only had a few beat-up firesticks:
A Kar98k-style Kar11 bolt-action rifle salvaged from a Germania battleship.
An MG-08/15-like MG-15 light-heavy dual-purpose defensive machine gun, also from a Germania warship.
An M15K bolt-action carbine from Leidenschaftlich, looking like a hybrid cobbled together from a Gew 98 and an M1903.
A Sten Mk.III submachine gun provided by the system.
An MP-40 submachine gun (1944 model), likewise from the system.
A Chauchat M1915 light machine gun (8mm Lebel version), again from the system.
An M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, commonly known as the BAR, courtesy of the system. (A sluggish, massive hunk of junk that weighed a ton and only held a 20-round magazine.)
And finally, the FMG9 Zhurong brought with him.
That was the entirety of their small arms inventory, featuring no shortage of outright cursed weaponry (Sten, BAR, Chauchat—yes, I'm looking at you!).
The heavy weapon inventory was even more pitifully barren, enough to make one want to cry:
A PHL-03 long-range multiple rocket launcher, courtesy of the system.
A heavily modified BV-238 variant so thoroughly customized even the Third Reich wouldn't recognize it, courtesy of the system.
An M-124 float reconnaissance plane from Germania, a biplane seaplane.
A 105mm L/50 triple-stabilized dual-purpose naval gun from Germania.
A 380mm L/50 battleship main gun from Germania.
A 150mm L/40 cruiser main gun from Leidenschaftlich.
A 76mm L/45 dual-purpose anti-aircraft gun from Leidenschaftlich.
That was the sum total of their heavy weaponry.